Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham

Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham was a freedom fighter, social reformer, playwright and journalist who was a follower of the renowned reformer of Andhra Pradesh, Kandukuri Veeresalingam. He was born in 1848 at Khandavalli, in the West Godavari District. Narasimham, who had a visual impairment since he was young, became completely blind by the completion of his graduation. Narasimham took up the task of empowering downtrodden sections of society. He founded Ram Mohan School in 1909 and provided free education for children from depressed communities. He entered the national movement by reciting verses at the District Conference of the Nationalists (1895), which greatly inspired the audience. Narasimham used his literary magazine Desamatha (Motherland) to denounce the British. He closed down Desamatha after the British imposed new press regulations to monitor and censor the political content in journals, as he believed that adhering by these laws amounted to selling his own soul. In addition, Narasimham addressed numerous meetings across the Madras Presidency, voicing his strong opposition to the British atrocities. At events like the Swadeshi meeting at Rajamahendravaram (1905) and the Vishakhapatnam Provincial Political Conference (1907), he composed and recited nationalistic poems for which he received wide applause and recognition.